The Film Wall » War

Age of Heroes (2011)

rashmeet — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:40:42 +0000

The true story of the formation of Ian Fleming’s 30 Commando unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K.

The Last Circus (2011)

rashmeet — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:24:33 +0000

1937, Spain is in the midst of the brutal Spanish Civil War. A “Happy” circus clown is interrupted mid-performance and forcibly recruited by a militia. Still in his costume, he is handed a machete and led into battle against National soldiers, where he single handedly massacres an entire platoon. This absurd and disturbing scenario raises the curtain on a twisted tale of love, revenge, and psychopathic clowns that could only spring from the mind of filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia.

Fast forward to 1973, the tail end of the Franco regime. Javier, the son of the clown, dreams of following in his father’s career footsteps, but has seen too much tragedy in his life – he’s simply not funny and is only equipped to play the role of the Sad Clown. He finds work in a circus where he befriends an outlandish cast of characters, but as the Sad Clown he must take the abuse of the brutish Happy Clown Sergio, who humiliates Javier daily in the name of entertainment.

It is here that he meets Natalia, a gorgeous acrobat, and abused wife of Sergio. Javier falls deeply in love with Natalia and tries to rescue her from her cruel and violent husband, unleashing Sergio’s jealousy. But Natalia is torn between her affection towards Javier and her lust for Sergio.

With neither man willing to back down, this twisted love triangle evolves into a ferocious battle between Sad Clown and Happy Clown, escalating to unbelievable heights in this absurd, shocking, irreverent and unforgettable film.

Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers (2011)

rashmeet — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:01:41 +0000

Untold and lost history. A true story of the American Pathfinders, the volunteer paratroopers whose deadly mission was to land 30 minutes before the Normandy invasion, locate and mark strategic “drop zones” and set up the top-secret navigation equipment needed to guide the main airborne assault on D-Day.

Winter in Wartime (2011)

rashmeet — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:52:07 +0000

Near the end of World War II, 14-year-old Michiel becomes involved with the Resistance after coming to the aid of a wounded British soldier. With the conflict coming to an end, Michiel comes of age and learns of the stark difference between adventure fantasy and the ugly realities of war.

Sisters of War (2010)

rashmeet — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:45:10 +0000

Inspired by the true story of a small group of Australian nurses and nuns who found themselves in the eye of the storm when the Japanese military made them prisoners of war on the island of New Britain in 1942. It is a tale of strength, survival and forgiveness.

Shake Hands with the Devil (2010)

rashmeet — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 11:40:57 +0000

In 1993, the United Nations dispatches Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (Roy Dupuis) to far off Rwanda to oversee a fragile cease-fire. A brilliant, workaholic officer and charismatic commander, Dallaire encounters the shabby reality of a typical UN peacekeeping operation: under-funded, overbureaucratic, and cobbled together from military units from dozens of countries, each with a slightly different agenda. Meanwhile, the peace agreement between the rebels, led by the minority Tutsi ethnic group, and the French-supported government dominated by the Hutu majority group, turns out to rest on shaky ground. When an unknown group shoots down the Rwandan President’s plane, the storm breaks and a secret but long-planned genocidal campaign against the Tutsi minority begins with a decisive action to stop the genocide of over 800,000 innocent civilians.

Eichmann (2010)

rashmeet — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 11:39:09 +0000

Based upon the final confession of Adolf Eichmann, made before his execution in Israel as he accounts to Captain Avner Less (Troy Garity, Soldier’s Girl, Sunshine), a young Israeli Police Officer, of his past as the architect of Hitler’s plan for the final solution. Captured by intelligence operatives in Argentina fifteen years after World War II, Eichmann, (Thomas Kretschmann, The Pianist, Valkyrie), the world’s most wanted man, must be broken down and the ruth unveiled. As the world waits, two men must confront each other in a battle of wills-the result of which will change a nation forever. Also stars Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, The Bourne Identity) and Stephen Fry (Valkyire, V for Vendetta).

Beneath Hill 60 (2010)

rashmeet — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:10:18 +0000

The extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward. It’s 1916 and Woodward must tear himself from his new young love to go to the mud and carnage of the Western Front. Deep beneath the German lines. Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnelers fight to defend a leaking, labyrinthine tunnel system packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War. Written by David Roach

Centurion (2010)

rashmeet — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:36:56 +0000

AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying tribes known as the Picts.

Quintus, sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus’ legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon.

But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines, evading remorseless Pict pursuers over harsh terrain, as the band of soldiers race to rescue their General, and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.

From writer/director, Neil Marshall, Centurion is a gripping survival thriller set against a background of conquest and invasion; a pursuit movie in the vein of Deliverance, Last of the Mohicans and Apocalypto.

Puppet Master: Axis of Evil (2010)

rashmeet — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:29:48 +0000

In a Stateside hotel during the height of World War II, young Danny Coogan dreams of joining the war effort. Following the murder of hotel guest Mr. Toulon by Nazi assassins, Danny finds the old man’s crate of mysterious puppets and is suddenly thrust into a battle all his own. He discovers that Nazis Max and Klaus, along with beautiful Japanese saboteur Ozu, plan to attack a secret American manufacturing plant. After his family is attacked and his girlfriend Beth is kidnapped, it is up to Danny and the living deadly Puppets to stop this Axis of Evil.

Restrepo (2010)

rashmeet — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:38:07 +0000

To make their bracingly visceral documentary Restrepo, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, award-winning journalists Tim Hetherington (Liberia: An Uncivil War) and Sebastian Junger (the books The Perfect Storm and the upcoming War) embedded with the soldiers of Second Platoon, Battle Company, as they fought to build and maintain a remote 15-man outpost in Afghanistan’s rugged Korengal Valley named “Restrepo,” after a platoon medic who was killed in action, which was one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. Hetherington and Junger avoid outside commentary and politics to present the war as it is actually lived by soldiers, through their own eyes and in their own words — their backbreaking labor, deadly firefights, boredom and camaraderie — the terrifying and exhilarating experiences they can never forget.

The Alamo Documentary: A True Story of Courage (2004)

savya — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:11:08 +0000

On March 6, 1836, one of the crucial battles in the United States’ war against Mexico and Texas’ fight for independence came to a close when the Siege at the Alamo ended, with Mexico carrying the day and David Crockett, James Bowie, and William B. Travis among the casualties. While Mexico won the battle, the shock waves sent out by the siege would help cost them the war, and the Alamo went on to become a legend. But how much of the lore of this historic event is fact, and how much is myth? The Alamo Documentary: A True Story of Courage attempts to separate truth from fiction as the filmmakers examine the verifiable facts of the battle and its repercussions, the true stories of its heroes, and how the story of the Alamo has changed with its many retellings — in fable, in literature, and on screen — over the years.

American Experience: Patriots Day (2004)

savya — Fri, 14 May 2010 07:50:04 +0000

More than 227 years after determined American militias stood their ground against the British at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, sixty-five of his Majesty’s tenth regiment and sixty-seven bold American rebels still draw arms to reenact those fateful battles. In this documentary that sets out to explore the patriotic enthusiasm of these action-oriented historians, filmmakers showcase the remarkable impact that love of country and passion for performance can have on a small group of people who have dedicated their lives to the American spirit.

About Baghdad (2004)

savya — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:18:16 +0000

Sinan Antoon is a journalist, novelist, and poet who left his native Iraq to escape the unstable and repressive political environment. In the summer of 2003, though, Antoon returned to the city of Baghdad with a camera crew in tow, and as he wandered the once-mighty city, which had been pockmarked by political conflict and war, he interviewed as many people as he could, ranging from politicians and intellectuals to shopkeepers, cab drivers, and American soldiers. The result, About Baghdad, offers a wide variety of perspectives on the city and how years of conflict in a number of forms have changed Baghdad and its people. The film also offers a sampling of Antoon’s writings about Iraq, as well as showcasing the works of other Iraqi artists.

Torpedo Bombers (1983)

bagavathi — Thu, 13 May 2010 06:59:02 +0000

Director Semyon Aranovich combines historical combat footage with a mix of black and white and murky color to create a fairly seamless narration about specific Soviet soldiers in the Baltics in 1944 and the women they meet and/or lose. War takes its toll on the one hand as buddies are killed in action — demonstrated in the deliberate kamikaze dive of a damaged Russian plane into a German warship. On the other hand, personal relationships are themselves often tragic. Just after Bebolrov is wounded, he finds out his wife has a lover, just after Gavrilov joyfully meets his son, he begins to doubt the little boy is his, and just after Cherepovets starts a romantic liaison with Maria, she is killed by an act of war. Life offers no assurances, not even for a short while, and even in the face of these and other hardships, the soldiers will soon have to go into battle again. A poignant review of faces at the end of these travails reveals just how many did not survive. ~ Eleanor Mannikka,